Mechanics and terms Clarification [Required]

A simple feature that is missing in this game when it comes to descriptions and clarity.

For starters, there are terms that are never mentioned anywhere and never explained, yet behave in a completely unnatural or non-instinctive way.


“When the troop is damaged.”
“Wounded.”

“Healthiest troop.”
“Weakest troop.”

“Heal the troop.”
“Give life to a troop.”

“Create 15 X and Y gems.”
“Create 15 gems, a mixture of X and Y.”

“Gain X gold.”
“Steal X gold.”

“Another random ally.”
“Random ally.”

“Random status effect.”

“When dealing skull damage”
“Damage from skulls.”

And last but not least.
“First 2 enemies.” / “Last 2 enemies.”
“First and last enemies.”


Some of these effects are already figured out by veteran players, but frankly, I have been playing this game for almost a year, and some people who play this game much longer had no idea how these mechanics really work, though playing for almost 2 years. Especially the wounded and health referring mechanics.

Clarification is required (As mentioned by @Lyya , one such example is “extra turn” upon matching 4/5 gems or triggered by spells, which would indicate triggering traits that take effect each turn) and mechanics’ descriptions should be uniformed in case they do the same thing (15 gems of X,Y reference).

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Add:
“When dealing skull damage”/“When they deal skull damage”/“When doing skull damage”/“When I deal skull damage”

The effects have inconsistent trigger conditions even given this similar language.

They’ve needed a pass of spell and trait descriptions for a while now, as well as a standardization of terms they use. They should be keyword searchable as well. For example:

“inflict freeze/freeze them” versus “the enemy is Frozen”
“transform all x gems to y” versus “convert all x gems to y”

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One that bothers my pedantic little brain, despite it being 100% clear in practice, is how loose the game is with the term “turn.” On the one hand, matching 4+ gives you a very vocal “Extra Turn!” As in, you get one more turn, not that your existing turn is extended. And yet, traits the trigger “at the start of your turn” do not trigger here. I don’t have a good solution here, and it’s not even a problem, but my logicky centers go “huh?” every time – and l’ve had years to acclimate :slight_smile:

While we’re at it, maybe the game can actually give a name to “4 and 5 Gem matches” that’s less awkward? Like “Bursts” or something even hokier. Then a bunch of traits would read, “Gain 2 Life on a Burst.” Because really, “4 and 5?” That’s not even accurate; converters, creators, and exploders can generate chains of much more than 5 that also count.

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I’m a fan of “4+”. It’s also easier to fit in card text!

Extra Move maybe?

I’ll be updating the thread with the unclear descriptions as you help me find those I overlooked or never even thought of.
For that, I’d like to thank @Mithran and @Lyya specifically, so far.

They call it actions from GW vocabulary.
I’d go with that because changing the name when one expression is already in use could only bring more confusion.

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Bumping this thread with a possible suggestion.

Should I create a new thread / recreate this one into describing the effects of the mechanics?